Agriculture

The Rancho Cielo Youth Campus was the site of a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ted Taylor Agricultural Center on April 8.

The San Luis Obispo County Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures has announced the release of the 2016 production statistics for the local agricultural industry. The total gross crop value for 2016 was $914,724,000.

After 30 years of making its own wine, Smith Family Wines will discontinue producing the Paraiso, Irie and Alexander-Smith labels and close the tasting room at the Paraiso Vineyards on Paraiso Springs Road in Soledad.

Wine grape harvest is just around the corner in the Paso Robles wine country.

Cesar Mendoza had been a participant in Food, What?!, an organization that brings the youth of Santa Cruz County into the world of farming, food production and cooking.

South County organic farmer Israel Morales Sr. of JV Farms Organic in Soledad will receive the Organic Farmer of the Year Award at the Organic Trade Association’s Leadership Awards set for Sept. 11 at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, Md.

The 41st Annual South County Ag Tour is set for Aug. 25, hosted by Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum, and will visit several agricultural destinations in South Monterey County.

Nearly 250 guests recently took a journey back in time to tour the properties owned by Salinas Land Co. and California Orchard Co. — located between King City and Greenfield — in celebration of the two companies’ 100th anniversary and their profound impact on agriculture in the Salinas Valley.

On May 18, the Salinas Valley Fair returns to King City for four days of family-friendly events, exhibits and activities.

Nicolaus “Nicky” Hahn, founder of Hahn Family Wines and pioneer of California’s Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, died last Friday at his home in Zurich, Switzerland. He was 81 years old.